Haiti: Hurricane Matthew Relief Effort
SPEC Institute Report for CORE Project: June-December 2017
August 04, 2018
Summary of Activities
In 2016, the KPS project achieved the goal of organizing structures put in place by the community in more than 21 municipalities across Haiti. In these communities, training sessions were carried out for more than 500 community health promoters to implement the messages of the book Konesans Pou Sove Lavi (KPS), translation Knowledge to Save Lives.
In their communities, these health promoters are called ambassadors of health. The role of these ambassadors is, officially, to create health clubs in their communities around the key messages of the KPS book. The fact is that these ambassadors did not spontaneously achieve this implementation for various reasons, the primary reason having to do with the key dynamics of these communities, whose mechanisms were not necessarily mastered by these ambassadors.
In fact, we had some of these ambassadors set up working groups, but no functional clubs really emerged after the training conducted between October 2016 and March 2017 thanks to the financial contribution of UNICEF.
Based on this reality, the current project (KPS2), implemented between June and December 2017 with support from Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) and Centre Hospitalier Sainte Marie, has focused a large part of its efforts and resources on the establishment of viable health clubs by considering the realities of the field, which led us to follow three major objectives:
- First, set up priority clubs in the sites where interest in this activity appeared to be greater and where locally a leader/ambassador could really play the role of local champion to carry the burden of bringing the project to its full realization.
- Secondly, divert some resources from other activities if necessary, to prioritize the creation of health clubs and logistical support for the implementation of their activities.
- Thirdly, communities that are more difficult to supervise will be supported later. It became clear that without regular and closely supervised coaching, the clubs would not be able to achieve long-term viability. Thus, considering the real means of the program, priority was given to the locations within control range of the project. This explains why other locations have not yet been touched in the creation and equipment of health clubs in 2017. This last component will be reinforced even more in the KPS3 project in 2018.
Despite the emphasis on creating health clubs, other aspects of implementation were crucial to the success of the project; it involves the creation, multiplication, and distribution of work tools, from health education materials to all the health clubs created, as well as the accompaniment of these clubs for the implementation of activities in the field. That is why other flagship activities have taken place:
- Production and publication of KPS folk songs
- Distribution of health education kits to the clubs that have been created
- Realization of mass awareness activities like the Health Festival
- Community actions to commemorate Global Handwashing Day
In conclusion, this KPS2 project in 2017, at the same time as making corrections to the shortcomings created during the implementation of the KPS1 project in 2016, had the great merit of stimulating the social movement of creating and mobilizing designated social groups, the health clubs. More than 122 clubs were created at the end of this project in at least 10 municipalities in the western and southern departments of Haiti.
Full Report
Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Creation, Animation, Monitoring, and Supervision
122 Health Clubs
At the end of the KPS2 project in December 2017, 122 health clubs had been formed in the following municipalities: Les Cayes, Cavaillon, Saint-Louis-du-Sud, Léogane, Gressier, Carrefour, Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Tabarre, Croix des Bouquets, and Pétion-Ville. The total number of members is 1,100 people registered in these health clubs.
The KPS project achieved an important objective during this phase: penetrating Haiti‘s southern region. This area was not reached at all in the program’s previous phase.
Animators’ Training Activities
Project Supervisors
Training activities were conducted to prepare on-site professionals to monitor all activities. Many of these professionals will be project supervisors in 2018. The trainings took place in Cavaillon, Carrefour, and Carrefour Shada.
Acquisition and Distribution of Work Equipment
Materials Purchased
The project carried out grouped purchases of materials, consumables, and work tools for the health clubs that were formed. Each health club received a basic health education kit that will allow them to conduct events, meetings, and other activities on a regular basis. This serves as a starter kit for health education tools.
A standard kit normally includes the following items:
- KPS book (sites that have already received books have not received again)
- Memory aid booklet
- Project T-Shirt
- Key message cards for group work
- Adhesive poster with key messages on hygiene
- Printed work and tracking materials, such as copies and attendance sheets/reports
Training and animation tools are a necessity for the health clubs. In addition to the kits, the project must produce printed materials and audio and video tools on a systematic basis, to feed the weekly work of the clubs. This will be a priority for 2018. The expenses correspond to the production of equipment as well as the purchase of equipment for the manufacturing of these products.
Realization and Diffusion of a Weekly Radio Transmission
Viv Lavi
The Viv Lavi (Live Life) radio program has been revised to become the KPS project’s broadcast program. This 45-minute program airs every Monday at 3:00 PM on 4VVE radio, 89.7 FM, and it resumes again on Friday at the same time.
The format of the show is as follows:
- Introduction and welcome
- Singing the KPS opening
- Important announcements
- Resonances section – Moment of testimony regarding field experiences
- Health Talk – Development of a theme/key message of the day
We are planning a more participatory show in 2018.
Launched a Complete Album of 14 Songs for the KPS Program
Major Contributor to Public Health
14 professional and quality artistic productions are now part of the project. These 14 songs correspond to the 14 themes of the KPS book. The production was submitted to the Ministry of Public Health and Population’s CADME (Committee for the Support of the Development of Educational Materials), which validated these songs with minor corrections to be made in 4 of them.
These songs were appreciated by radio hosts, health extension/promoters, hospitals, the tourism industry, and many other sectors who see them as a major contributor to public health for 2017. An initial test-production of 10 CDs was made, due to the level of interest and warm reception that exceeded our expectations during the Health Festival.
This Health Festival, which took place in Gymnasium Vincent de la rue Romain in Port-au-Prince, was a resounding success and propelled the project to another level. Now, major players such as the Haitian Public Health Association, the association of private hospitals, neighborhood associations, churches, policy-makers, and others are aware of the project. An estimated number of more than 700 people attended.
Participation in Global Handwashing Day
OCTOBER 15, 2017
The commemoration of Global Handwashing Day was also a success, and instead of washing 2,000 hands as envisioned, 6,000 hands were washed in three communes: Port-au-Prince, Pétion-Ville, and especially Carrefour. The most important thing was to test the health clubs’ ability to mobilize on large-scale joint projects. This experience puts us on the path to more successful commemorations in 2018. The execution of this activity consisted mainly in the supervision of the clubs setting up activities, but also in acquiring soap, posters, and other logistical materials to make these activities a success.
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